Humphrey, Doris

Humphrey, Doris, 1895–1958, American modern dancer and choreographer, b. Oak Park, Ill. Humphrey was a featured soloist with the Denishawn Company until 1927. She then formed her own company with Charles Weidman, which performed for 16 years, producing such dancers as José Limón. One of the foremost figures of modern dance, she developed experimental concepts in form and content in such works as Water Study (1928) and Theater Piece No. 2 (1956). In 1955 she was instrumental in founding the Juilliard Dance Theater in New York City.

Bibliography

See her autobiography, ed. by S. V. Cohen (1972).

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Humphrey, Doris

Doris Humphrey.

(credit: Culver Pictures)

(born Oct. 17, 1895, Oak Park, Ill., U.S.—died Dec. 29, 1958, New York, N.Y.) U.S. dancer and modern-dance choreographer. She was a member of the Denishawn troupe from 1917 to 1928, when she left to cofound, with Charles Weidman, a school and performing dance group, which was active until 1944. In her choreography she employed an innovative use of conflict between balance and imbalance, fall and recovery; her works included Water Study (1928), The Shakers (1931), and New Dance (1935). She retired as a performer in 1945 but continued as artistic director for José Limón's company, creating works such as Day on Earth (1947) and Ruins and Visions (1953).

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Humphrey, Doris (1895–1958) modern dancer, choreographer; born in Oak Park, Ill. A student and performer in the Denishaw Company in her early years, she formed a company in New York with Charles Weidman in 1927. She staged 83 works with her company—including The Pleasures of Counter-point (1932)—and taught at several performing arts high schools and colleges. After retiring from performance in 1943, she served as artistic director of the José Limon Company (1946–58). An innovative influence on modern dance, she was best known for her "fall and recovery" technique; she set forth her ideas in The Art of Making Dance (1959).